It was a five-layer cake. At the bottom of the cake, there was a layer of chocolate. Above that was an orange layer, then another chocolate one, another orange one, and so on.

layer means:

• orange

• level

• chocolate

• cake

After going for a long walk in the rain, Ali noticed that one of his new black shoes was beginning to come apart. The lower part was beginning to separate from the upper part of the shoe. Fortunately, one of his friends had a tube of glue, so Ali was able to put some of the glue on both parts of the shoe and press them tightly together until the shoe was repaired. glue means:

• something used to color shoes

• something that solves a problem

• substance that sticks things together

• substance used to dry things

Some types of trees are extremely rigid. When a strong wind blows, they sometimes break because they do not bend easily. Other trees, such as tall coconut palms, bend easily and do not break in a strong wind.

rigid means:

• easy

• tall

• broken

• unbending

When Jamal was shopping, he found a red shirt that he wanted to buy. Because the shirt was made of 100% cotton, Jamal was worried that it would shrink. Therefore, he asked the salesman if the shirt would get smaller when he washed it in warm water. The salesman said that it probably would and advised Jamal to buy a larger size.

shrink means:

• wash in warm water

• fit

• become smaller

• lose color

Karim’s cheek started to swell when he had a toothache. It became much larger than normal. When Karim’s father noticed the swelling, he called the dentist and made an appointment for Karim.

swell means:

• increase in size

• become painful

• change color

• bleed

When Bader considers buying a new cell phone, he doesn’t place a lot of importance on how attractive the phone is. He is more interested in all of the different functions that each phone has. In particular, he wants a good camera and plenty of storage for his music. If the phone is good-looking, that’s just an extra benefit.

attractive means:

• large

• different

• important

• good-looking

Ali’s dining room table is mostly made of cheap pinewood. However, the table has a veneer made of oak. This thin covering layer of oak over the pine makes the table look as if it’s really made of the more expensive wood. Many people think the table cost a lot of money, but it didn’t.

veneer means:

• type of dining room table

• thin covering layer of wood

• cheap wood used to make furniture

• something that looks expensive but isn’t

Sami bought some large pieces of plywood to cover the windows in his house so that they would be protected from storms. The sheets of plywood were just the right size to protect the larger windows, but before covering the smaller windows he trimmed the plywood to fit them.

trimmed means:

• painted

• cut a little off

• nailed up

• measured

Ahmed is planning to build a house in his village. He has owned some land there for many years, but it isn’t big enough for the house he wants to build. Fortunately, he was recently able to persuade the owner of the adjacent piece of land to sell it to him, so now Ahmed has enough room for a large house and garden.

adjacent means:

• big

• next to

• other

• special

The hydraulic principle is simple: you cannot compress a liquid, and because of this, when you apply force at one point, that force is transmitted by the liquid to another point. We all know that pushing down on the brake pedal stops a car. When you push down with your foot, the car transmits the force from your foot to the brakes through a fluid. It also multiplies this force.

hydraulic means:

• driven by fluid

• connected to brakes

• using force

• stopping a car